


Before and After

by Iniren



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Love, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 23:24:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19840702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iniren/pseuds/Iniren
Summary: I feel like these were missing scenes for S6, Ep.19 "Lessons"





	1. Before

"Deanna. You don't think it's weird?" The two on-again, off-again lovers/friends/colleagues shared a meal in Ten-Forward. It was quiet then as they'd both taken later shifts. They'd been discussing their captain and his relationship with the head of stellar cartography. The counselor had a distinct impression, they were probably the worst people to try to figure out any relationship.

"Maybe it's just his preference. Just because you're open to different women," _holograms and_ _occasional genderless aliens_ ,  she thought to herself, "It doesn't mean it's wrong for him to have a 'type.'"

"You think that's all it is?" he asked incredulously, "He just has a preference for brilliant tea-drinking, redheads who aren't afraid to challenge him?"

"Maybe. I don't know why you're so worried about Beverly, other than you don't care for Commander Darren."

Will thought for a moment and had to admit she was right, but it was so irksome. He felt a sort of brotherly affection and protectiveness over his friend and doctor, particularly after serving as host to Odan. He didn't remember very much from that time, being so ill, but he did see how much Beverly enjoyed and needed love. Combined with seeing his captain with an outwardly similar woman, the current situation felt strange.

"Well, Beverly's nicer," he grumbled,  "Deanna, if it was just a relationship, I could let it go, but all their history, the Borg, Celtris III...She was there for all of it. It feels unfair."

"To whom? All I sense from them is general happiness and perhaps a little awkwardness. It's a big adjustment for all of them." She sensed the captain and doctor everyday, they were always had a deep respect and affection, but they were also very disciplined and guarded, so she truly couldn't be sure of their deepest emotions.

Deanna sighed, exhausted by Will's frustration and anxiety for Beverly. She herself felt the tension of having established relationships changed. She wouldn't share it with Will, but sensed some irritation from Beverly. The doctor had enjoyed a special intimacy in her friendship with their captain and having another person in the midst of it was ... crowded. She sympathized, but nothing was affecting the ship's functionality and the rest of the crew were happy to see the captain happy, if only for the fresh gossip.

"Will, I know you're uncomfortable about the situation, but it'll either work or not. You'll just have to be patient." And with that she said goodnight and left him sulking in Ten-Forward with his drink. Will for his part wondered if the "it" that would work out was Commander Darren or Doctor Beverly.


	2. After

"Jean-Luc, aren't you going to eat anything?"

He looked up surprised, lost in his thoughts, he answered, "I'm sorry. I'm not very good company tonight." 

Beverly had meant to share a meal, worried he'd be lonely after Commander Darren had transferred off the ship. Also she'd missed their meals together while he'd been involved with her and the subsequent time afterward the relationship ended. She'd wanted to give him a little space to sort out his feelings, but clearly it wasn't sorted out yet.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she offered.

He took a few more bites of his now cold meal and sighed. "Not really. There isn't much to say. It just didn't work out."

"I think it's more, it was when you ordered her to stay on the planet, knowing she was in danger, wasn't it?"

He paused, studying the remnants on his plate and said, "Maybe. I don't know.We'd worked out the possible issues with the crew, our duties, but waiting not knowing if she'd return...In the end the problem was mine, I couldn't stand anticipating that kind of loss."

She slowly rose from her spot across the table, switching to the chair beside him and merely held his hand. "I think I understand a little, on Celtris III when Worf and I had to leave you. I felt so much like I'd failed you."

"It was the right decision."

She nodded, "but it doesn't make it feel any better." Smiling sadly, she continued, "I wanted to claw Jellico's face off, when he refused to authorize a rescue." 

Jean-Luc chuckled, "I admit I would have liked seeing that."

"As to the crew, maybe because Nella was new or her forthrightness. Will certainly didn't like her. You know she came to sickbay for a piano-playing muscle strain? I had the distinct impression I was using me as a tree," she said with irritation.

"A tree?"

"She was marking her territory, trying to gauge if I was a rival. Asking how long I'd known you, calling you 'isolated.' As if I couldn't tell she wanted to know our history and how close we are now. That muscle strain could have easily been handled by any standard issue analgesic. Wasting my time in sickbay." She rolled her eyes. Their relationship was none of Nella's business, especially since she'd deliberately given them space while they were involved. He smiled at her description as he pictured them in sickbay. 

"She did that? I'm sorry you got dragged intoit, but you can't really blame her. We do have a lot of history."

She shrugged, "Anyway, I like seeing you smile again and having dinner again. I missed this.Anyway, it you're up to it I have a little surprise for you. Hopefully it'll cheer you up."

The pair made their way to the holodeck and Beverly loaded her program. The doors opened to what appeared to be an empty band classroom, full of rows of chairs, music stands and percussion instruments. In the corner a spinet with a small case on top of it. She pulled him gently to the piano and presented him with the case as he sat beside her on the bench.

"Open it. It's just a penny whistle, but similar to your Resikkan flute. Even though things didn't work out with Nella, there's no reason you can't still have the music. Maybe if you like the program, you can bring your flute another time." He smiled sadly, touched, but hesitant. She sat at the keyboard and played a simple arrangement of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." He looked up with surprise as she continued playing chords and arpeggios quietly.

"I didn't know you played, Beverly."

She laughed, "Don't get too excited. My piano playing is limited to the seven or eight months of lessons in junior high school. Looking back I wished I'd kept it up."

"Why didn't you?"

"Well... how I got into playing was I had a terrible crush on my classmate's older brother, Derrick - a musical, poetic type.He gave lessons to younger students on Caldos and I was a devoted pupil...at least until he started dating a girl in the high school choir. Then the piano didn't seem so interesting anymore."

She said innocently with a playful glint in her eye. With that he began slowly to laugh until the friends were laughing heartily together. It became less and less about the story and eventually for the sheer pleasure of being together. As they caught their breaths she added, "I did learned two things from that disastrous foray into love and music."

"Really? What is that?"

"First, you can't become something you're not for somebody else, like I was not the brooding pianist I thought he wanted andyou can't help feeling the way you do giving a dangerous order."

"And the second?" 

"If you give up things you love because a love affair goes wrong, you invariable regret it, which is why I'm a dreadful pianist. So I really hope you don't give up your flute."

"I won't I wouldn't have. Though I guess we have a lot to learn about music...and love," Jean-Luc said. "Thank you, Beverly."

She merely smiled and nodded fully understanding his appreciation for her kindness, patience and presence. The two continued playing and learning together, laughing at one another's mistakes. Nobody could really define what their captain and doctor were to each other as romance or friendship. Somehow it was more than either of those things and anybody who was privileged to see it, knew it was rare and envied them.

**Author's Note:**

> It's not really shippy, but I think still enjoyable. I did not understand what a Picard saw in her, she didn't seem nice, belittling his tea, condescending about his flute playing, pushy at work.


End file.
